Page:Resolutions and Decisions of the Third Congress of the Red International of Labor Unions (1924).pdf/69



ATIN America with its 120,000,000 people and its vast mineral and other wealth furnishes a rich field for American imperialism, which has invested four billion dollars there, subdued a dozen countries, has troops in six and military and financial commissions in other Latin American countries.

In view of the common language and similarity of history, traditions and social structure, it is possible to unite the Latin American countries for joint opposition to American imperialism. In the united working class of Latin America the American and European proletariat will find a powerful ally in their struggle with American capitalism.

The union movement of Latin America is young and is therefore largely without a definite orientation. With a determined effort it can be won for the R. I. L. U. as is proved by the affiliation of the Chilean movement, the 40 per cent vote in favor of the Red International in the last Argentinian convention of labor unions, the presence of a fraternal delegate from Peru at this congress, etc.

Although Amsterdam recently made attempts to enlist the labor movement in some parts of Latin America by sending representatives there, the attempts remained entirely futile. The anarchists are stronger than the reformists, thanks to the inheritance of certain syndicalist traditions from France and Spain, but anarchism is now undergoing an internal crisis, and its adherents, realizing the futility of their efforts have made a united front with the yellows against any international affiliation and for an American continental international. There are two movements for a continental international: 1. that of the Pan-American Federation of Labor which is headed by Gompers and receives government aid from various countries. However, a determined effort can drive Gompers from that Federation; it may be sufficient to make public the approval of the occupation of Haiti by American troops and his other acts of support to American imperialism. 2.. The continental international which is being organized by the united labor unions of Argentine as a countermove against the R. I. L. U. This international will likely accept no yellow movements into its midst and will possibly affiliate with a similar embyonic organization projected by the I. W. W.

The principal weakness of the R. I. L. U. up till now has been a lack of an adequate press in Spanish and of an adequate bulletin news service, the lack of instructions in Spanish, which is the only language the workers understand. In some of the Latin American countries unions with the best intentions carry on propaganda that is quite uncommunist and inappropriate to the R. I. L. U. The influence of the anarchists is also explained by the lack of a communist press while the Latin American countries are being flooded with anarchist literature in Spanish, printed in Latin America and in Spain.

Taking into consideration the above condition, the Third Congress of the R. I. L. U. resolves:

1. To improve the quality and to increase the circulation of the existing press of the R. I. L. U. adherents in Latin America and to found such additional papers and magazines as shall be necessary.

2. To send to Latin America all instructions of the R. I. L. U. in Spanish; to publish in Latin America a monthly bulletin in Spanish with a special Latin American section.